Honorable Member

Although it is clear by the phrase "safest operating system available", that must also include other distros of Linux as well, but due to the lack of details in that regard, I'm curious how it excels in that aspect. I had to discard Kubuntu 12.04, because of it hanging on boot trying to detect my empty ODDs, It's possible that Ubuntu might be different, because of the different desktop environment, but I would prefer to KNOW if that is true, because I wouldn't want to just take a shot in the dark, keeping my fingers crossed. Besides, I never cared much for the Gnome desktop.

Extraordinary Member

I'll likely install the next Ubuntu LTS (due in May 2014) on my desktop. Normally I use the latest version of Linux Mint (am on it now), but there has been questions raised about it's security. There are many Linux based OS's built on the Ubuntu platform, some good, some not so good. Mint's usage actually shot past Ubuntu's, but still under the hood it's Ubuntu made over.

In addition to it's great security, Ubuntu (& it's variants) uses far less resources than any Windows install.

There's no such thing as a 100% secure OS, however most versions of Linux are more secure than Windows. The one thing to keep in mind, even if there's only one computer in the home, if one is connected to a cable/DSL modem, get a wireless router, install it & plug it into one of the usually 4 available ports. This gives the user a Hardware Firewall, as long as NAT is enabled. Usually it is enabled by default, but it's best to check anyway.

One can, but doesn't need to spend a fortune on a good wireless router for this purpose. Having a hardware Firewall is one of the best ways to secure any computer from intrusions. There are also tools in the package manager to scan for viruses/rootkits (ClamTK, chkrootkit & rkhunter).

As far as usability goes, if one can use the Firefox browser, that's the 1st step in learning to use the OS. Ubuntu has a massive community forum, with lots of professional assistance for free. Google is also your friend, it's highly likely that any issue that arises has been covered hundreds of times.

It also ships with a 100% Free Office suite in Libre Office. For many home/student users, it's all that's needed. Only a small amount of MS Office users needs all of the advanced options available.

Note that Ubuntu & many other Linux based OS's won't install on just any hardware today, PAE is required to install the OS or boot as a live DVD to give it a test run. It IS best to run it in Live mode to ensure it's compatible with the computer, plus it gives the user a feel for the OS. In this mode, one can also make transactions securely.

Honorable Member

Although it is clear by the phrase "safest operating system available", that must also include other distros of Linux as well, but due to the lack of details in that regard, I'm curious how it excels in that aspect. I had to discard Kubuntu 12.04, because of it hanging on boot trying to detect my empty ODDs, It's possible that Ubuntu might be different, because of the different desktop environment, but I would prefer to KNOW if that is true, because I wouldn't want to just take a shot in the dark, keeping my fingers crossed. Besides, I never cared much for the Gnome desktop.

Unity is made to be Ubuntus own spin on the desktop layout and interface, but in terms of security it offers little over any other distro.
Also if you had issues with Kubuntu 13.04/10 they will still be there in Ubuntu, they share most of the same issues.

Senior Member

On top of my head, I think the big difference is the popularity and support Ubuntu is getting. If one OS like Ubuntu is getting a lot of support and is backed by a good company (Canonical), there is a non-stop development and security updates being written for the said OS. Regular and continuous security updates makes is it "safer" than the rest of other linux distros.

Honorable Member

On top of my head, I think the big difference is the popularity and support Ubuntu is getting. If one OS like Ubuntu is getting a lot of support and is backed by a good company (Canonical), there is a non-stop development and security updates being written for the said OS. Regular and continuous security updates makes is it "safer" than the rest of other linux distros.

No I would argue there are plenty of other fish that equal Ubuntu in terms of security.
For instance in openSUSE's case it is backed by Attachmate who owns Novell the former parent company to openSUSE and its commercial counterpart SUSE enterprise desktop.
The two main goals of SUSE in general is stability and security which trickle down to its non commercial counterpart..
Security upgrades come regularly and its usually openSUSE who gets the bugfixes first and those bugfixes trickle up.
Or how about Redhat and its non commercial counterpart Fedora, also have great focus on security though with fedora it can be a little messy on the stability front (well it is a little more bleeding edge which can be both a good and bad thing)
How about non commercial distros like Debian, Debian too prides itself on the merits of stability and security.
Plus a lot of the other distros such as Mageia, Pclinux, Arch, Gentoo and the grandfather distro Slackware all have fully dedicated teams who ensure a nice secure system.
Commercial enterprise does not equal security, if its a company that should have told you that its Microsoft.
After all here is a company that for years ignored major security issues and did not resolve them until many systems were compromised.
That is what happens when corporate interests get ahead of common sense, heck its a lesson that Apple had to learn recently.
Now mind you I am not saying anything is perfect as linux too has its fair share of security issues but its not as common due to its standings in the mainstream.
Though to be honest I think linux would be a lot better off then both OSX and windows if it ever hit the big leagues due to the open source nature of the system.
Still though one must not give into falsehoods and say that no OS is bulletproof.